We are extremely pleased to announce that Ionic Stone has been successful in winning Tile Manufacturers of the Year, London & South East, by the Prestige Awards, which was launched to celebrate the SMEs and individuals that consistently offer excellent products and services to trade and retailers. Each year, the team at the prestige awards orchestrate a broad search in regions and business sectors globally with a vibrant SME community and independent scene. There is a strong belief that SME businesses are the backbone of all local and global economies and in some circumstances they reflect the unique characteristics which can be seen in particular cities and regions globally. Osmaan Mahmood, Founder & CEO of Prestige Awards, said: “although small businesses may not be able to compete with multinational companies on their size and scale, there is a personalised service-driven focus that is often void from large organisations.” Every region is vigorously and extensively researched before the candidates are carefully selected. The readers of Prestige are then invited to nominate businesses who they believe to be the best in their market sector over the past 12 months. The companies that are put forward and become candidates for the Prestige Awards are asked to provide verification and evidence of their works, client feedback, any accreditation that they may have been received, provide documentation and images of works supplied as well as highlighting any areas of the business which have exceeded in the market place. The panel of judges base their decisions on a number of ideologies, including customer service, quality of product, innovative products and practises within the company, sustainability and ethical working practices along with reliability and dependability of the company as a whole. The companies who demonstrate their strengths in the above areas will be strongest candidates to be selected as winners. The winners are all featured in a celebratory awards magazine, published both digitally and in print, which in turn is then circulated to Prestige subscribers.